Conventionally, two distinct networks have been used to carry voice and data. The public switched telephone network (PSTN) is a network that was developed primarily as a network for carrying voice traffic. Similarly, the Internet is a network that was developed primarily to carry data traffic. The PSTN and the Internet conventionally carry data between users at diverse locations. Local networks connected to the PSTN or the Internet are conventionally also dedicated to carrying either voice or data. In a typical office environment, for example, telephones are connected to a private branch exchange (PBX) through one set of wires and computers and other data devices are typically connected to a local area network (LAN), e.g., an Ethernet LAN.
Recently, however, there has been a movement within the telecommunications industry to merge the data and voice networks. This trend has been seen not only in the PSTN and the Internet but also in the local networks, e.g., the PBX and the LAN. With this merger of voice and data traffic, new products have been introduced that allow voice to be transported over a LAN, e.g., voice over Ethernet and voice over IP telephones.
Unfortunately, in these modified or hybrid networks, the only interaction between computing devices and voice devices is that the data to/from the computing devices and voice signals to/from the voice devices are carried over the same infrastructure. These networks make no attempt to merge the capabilities of the data and voice networks. Rather, the voice data is merely transported alongside regular data on the same wires. Further there are no mechanisms for controlling the streaming of voice data in these hybrid networks that would allow the networks to fully utilize the processing power of the computers connected to the local area network to enhance the voice communications by processing the voice streams.
For the reasons stated above, and for other reasons stated below which will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading and understanding the present specification, there is a need in the art for a mechanism to control the streaming of voice data in a local area network.